Mourning the Loss of Robert Sharpe, Legendary Fundraising Expert, Tireless Truth-Seeker

In the midst of the Great Recession, I got a call from Robert Sharpe, the well-known planned-giving expert. The Giving USA figures, the annual tally of American philanthropy, had just come out. Charitable giving, the data showed, had not declined despite the economic crisis.

Robert was pretty worked up. “Do you really believe that charitable giving has not declined?” he demanded. In fact, I did not believe it. I’d been calling fundraisers and their organizations for months. Most, if not all, were telling me about substantial drops in contributions.

And so began an effort that eventually led scholars to revise Giving USA to better account for economic turmoil in the estimates of how much money goes to American charities every year. And that was largely due to Robert Sharpe, who tragically and unexpectedly passed away last week at age 68.

As I mourn a legend in the field, and a professional relationship that spanned more than three decades, I can say one thing with certainty: Robert Sharpe stood for telling the truth about American philanthropy—about how and why people give.

Another example of that: the much-touted transfer of wealth. Once again, Robert took exception to scholarly predictions that charities would receive at least $1.7 trillion from 1998 to 2017, the first 20-year phase of a wealth transfer to occur as the World War II generation and baby boomers died, leaving assets to charity.

Armed with data, Robert proved to me that the wealth transfer simply wasn’t occurring as the scholars had predicted. Back in 2006, he told me there would eventually be a wealth transfer, just not on the timetable or scale the scholars had predicted. Once again, he was right.

Less than three months ago, Robert emailed to tell me that he’d realized that the wealth transfer was finally emerging. Charitable bequests have been rising since 2014, according to his recent analysis of federal data accounting for about half of all estate gifts. But that fact has been obscured in part by the ongoing pandemic. Few charities, he added, have focused on demographic trends related to baby boomers, such as the significantly higher rate of childless individuals compared to other generations, and how their organizations might appeal to aging boomers.

Robert had many other important insights. For example, he did a lot of research about charity during the Great Depression, which was helpful to nonprofit organizations trying to survive the deep recession of 2008 and 2009. One finding that held true in both financial crises: Estate gifts helped many organizations survive what could otherwise have shuttered them. 

Yet another of Robert’s findings: After examining records of multiple charities, he found that the generation born in the 1930s—my mother’s generation, depicted in popular shows like “Mad Men,” of which Robert and I were both big fans—was less charitable than older and younger generations. That is, people born in the 1930s were less likely to leave gifts to charity in their estates. As Robert described this generation, I realized that my mother, who died many years ago, was a perfect example of what he was talking about. It was eye-opening, and interestingly, it did not upset me. It helped me see her more clearly. 

In mulling over my decades of work with and reliance on Robert’s fundraising wisdom, I think I will miss his humor the most. We rarely saw each other, but we spoke often. I was amused, for example, by his prediction that vacant hotels in smaller cities and towns would become rest homes for hard-partying, marijuana-smoking baby boomers.

At many fundraising conferences I attended over the years, Robert was a speaker, usually in standing-room-only settings. His presentations drew big crowds, and he had a lot of data to back up his points. His multifaceted presentations always drew loud laughter from the audience. 

He was also a workaholic, telling me that he had more fun working than doing anything else. Take more time off, I urged. Get on a plane and go somewhere relaxing, like a tropical island. But no, he said, he traveled too much for work. His idea of a great vacation? Staying at home with no commitments except to family. I remember talking to him during a rare home vacation—the only one I ever knew of—as he indulged in a well-deserved Red Stripe beer.

Of his many nonprofit clients all over the country, Robert was proudest of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the iconic charity created by the late actor Danny Thomas, based in Memphis, where Robert also lived. In fact, Robert’s former consulting company, the Sharpe Group, founded by his father, had advised St. Jude. But Robert was pleased when he later persuaded St. Jude to invest more in estate gifts at a time when other organizations were cutting back. The cuts caused a sharp decline in bequests for many big charities that were clients of Robert’s—but not St. Jude. 

“His work helped hundreds of organizations over the years, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., president of the foundation that raises money for St. Jude. “He was passionate about strengthening the connections between organizations and dedicated donors and he had a huge impact on the charitable landscape. We are honored to have called him our friend.” 

It’s hard to overstate how much I, too, valued Robert—a giant in the field of philanthropy, and more specifically, fundraising. I am exceedingly grateful, both personally and professionally, for having known him and having benefited from his exceptional insights. I will never forget his contributions to our field. Godspeed, Mr. Sharpe.